His game is totally different… but on this, I like to compare him to Frank. Frank has done well for himself and he has a much better NBA body over Devon. @justanotherfan said it right… the NBA grinds up small guards. I think it would be smart for Devon to earn his degree because he will probably use it later. His best shot is to be here through his junior year (at least).

Anyone check out Devonte’s heroics in G-league? I barely recognized him because he has been building his body to better translate to the league.

Once these guys go for the league, you can tell the serious players because they always make a huge leap in conditioning once they leave. So few have the body necessary at that level when coming straight from college. But heck… they have a lot more time to dedicate to basketball and conditioning…

College basketball (outside of the top handful of programs) generates almost all of its money from the NCAA tournament. The NCAA tournament, in turn, generates about 90% of the overall NCAA budget on an annual basis. So the question is this - do the networks (ESPN, CBS, TNT, etc.) pay top dollar to televise the NCAA tournament.

The question moving forward is two parts:

How many top players go the NBA/G League/D League route
How do the networks/advertisers respond

We already know what college basketball looks like if you subtract the TV money. Go to any mid major and you will see it. Drive down to Wichita State, or up to Creighton, or over to any number of other mid major programs. Even the ones that do sell lots of tickets do not have the same financial strength as those that appear on TV regularly. And these are programs that have consistently had success.

If the TV/advertising money dries up, college basketball will have to change because the current model is unsustainable without that money.

Technically, LeBron can go to any othre team but realistically is just a few that have the cap space to accommodate what will likely be the largest salary ever. Philadelphia would have top get rid of several player top make room since it has several players that will be coming off their low rookie contracts and demanding top money; Embiid already has gotten a new contract and Simmons is next along with some key player like Redick that have high dollar contracts. Golden State has the highest payroll and Durant will be getting much larger contract than the $24M he gets now and after next season Klay Thompson is up and he will also be getting considerably more than the $18M he gets that could be considered a bargain and if he decides to leave, he would the the top player for a lot of other teams instead of the third wheel after Curry and Durant The same is true for many team and only a few have the cap space to take on LeBron and the supporting cast he will demand. LA has the cap space and the Knicks can shed a lot of contracts and have money to sign LeBron and another big name to go with Porzingis to create a contender, particularly in the weaker East Division.

Also, there is the chemistry aspect. Kyrie went o Boston because he did not want toi play with LeBron and if he were to sign with Boston, Kyrie likely is gone. I saw someone mentioned Milwaukee but I am not sure LeBron and the Greek Freak would be a good match, particularly when many consider him the next best player in the League and would be in direct competition with LeBron; it might be the same case with Houston and Harden plus Houston might not have the cap room because resigning Paul and Capela will not be cheap. Lebron does not just move to another team, he takes over the team and demands players he likes and even new coaches, something that does not sit well with most players or GMs.

Lebron will be 34 next December so he is getting to the end of his career and, much like Kobe, he started right after high school and played high minutes everywhere he has been so he has a lot more miles than other players his age. Realistically he has 3-5 year left, probably closer to 3, and with the current make up of the League his chances of catching Jordan title-wise are pretty slim, so my guess is he want to end his career in one of the bigger markets with an eye on his future after basketball and LA is without a doubt the place and the fact the he bought a second mansion there would appear to indicate he will be living there after he is done playing; I understand he spends a fair amount of the off season there already. LA has the cap space and few young promising players already and if it can get George and Leonard then it has the core for a real contender.

@dylans Michael Jordan, the 90’s and being a kid are all inseparable in my mind. I agree, it was easy to idolize Jordan, he was charismatic and amazing, and it was great not having to think about endorsements or politics watching him work.

@Lulufulu I doubt he will. Scoring seems to be his thing. I will say this about his stats, Rubio seemingly has about 15 assists every night I look and Towns seemingly has about 15 or so boards every night. This limits the possibilities for those stats somewhat.

@JayHawkFanToo Maybe. I know he returns and plays in scrimmages at KU against current players. He could pull a Jerod Haase and help Roy Williams for a time. I think he has a fair relationship with Self and KU that he might consider coaching. He may go back to Iowa and join LaFrentz and buy up the other half of the state. We all know Dick Vitale had a man crush on him too. If anything, he stays in OKC and helps coach up the Thunder bigs.